Expert Accounts and Their Ability to Attenuate Loss

Group dynamics can be quite difficult and even then things can go wrong. In such situations experts are given the important responsibility to provide an explanation and in effect attenuate any hard feelings. In these instances, according to Frey and Cobb (2010), individuals in the group consider the level of expertise, specificity or clarity of social account, and most important degree of loss when something goes wrong. Further, and contrary to expectations, experts are not always the best individuals to attenuate negativity, which tends to vary depending on the degree of loss (Frey & Cobb, 2010).

At the macro level, these findings can be generalized to the current economic crisis. For instance, the show “This American Life” recounts the economic meltdown and concludes that governments, companies and a number of individuals are to blame for the economic crisis. Thus, some individuals were affected economically more than others. To address the problem the experts, or those in charge of the economy, are creating their own social accounts to make things better. However, CNN reports that the skeptics or critics are not quite convinced of the expert accounts.

It is in this context of uncertainty or bad turn out that the expert is tasked with attenuating hard feelings individuals may have. Frey and Cobb interestingly found that, “under conditions of higher loss, expertise actually becomes a sizable liability, indicating a boomerang effect”. The researchers explain that the experts, in all their wisdom, should have used their knowledge to stop any mistakes that may have occurred. So whatever social accounts are presented, to some, will fall under the backdrop of the mistakes that caused the economic crisis.

Hear more: Return of the Giant Pool of Money: This American life

Read more: Bad timing could sink the democrats

Frey, F.M. & Cobb, A.T. (2010). What matters in social accounts? The roles of account specificity, source expertise, and outcome loss on acceptance